Indoor ski slope envisioned on defunct Biscayne Landing site
North Miami’s defunct Biscayne Landing commercial project could be reborn soon as a winter-themed recreation center inside a manmade mountain and a tennis facility.
North Miami’s defunct Biscayne Landing commercial project could be reborn soon as a winter-themed recreation center inside a manmade mountain and a tennis facility.
The former law partner of North Miami Mayor Andre Pierre, along with the mayor’s onetime campaign manager, have a contract to purchase nearly $190 million in debt tied to Biscayne Landing for a discounted price of more than $30 million. The owner of the debt also stands to control the lease for the city-owned, 190-acre Biscayne Landing site near Biscayne Bay.
If the contract closes in a few weeks, Solar Park Management Corp. plans to build a resort complex called Solar Mountain on the site, said group President Marc A. Douthit, the mayor’s former law partner.
Key attractions would include a 550-foot-tall indoor ski and snow sports mountain with an indoor ski-jump and room for snowmobiling. The group also wants to create a tennis center replicating the four surfaces used in tennis’ Grand Slam circuit, including grass and clay.
Norman Canter, owner of Renaissance Tennis, a players agent, is the visionary behind the project. He said the buying group is finalizing plans for the site with the help of several advisers, including Baker Leisure Group, whose principal worked for Disney when Epcot Center was developed.
Canter said he signed a contract with Cantor Fitzgerald in New York to put together a financing plan for the project. He originally spoke to the company late last year, when the project was strictly about the tennis center. Cantor Fitzgerald did not respond to an e-mail seeking comment.
Jay Caplin, a managing principal of commercial investment company Steelbridge Capital, said the key to the vision will be financing, which is hard to come by for speculative projects like Solar Mountain.
“The reality is that any development – whether it’s another private-public venture, a destination or continuing the residential plan – is going to require both equity capital and debt financing,” said Caplin, who is unaffiliated with the project.
The property, next to Florida International University, was a landfill prior to its attempted reinvention as residences, offices and retail. Just 170 condo units in two buildings have been built, a small fraction of nearly 6,000 originally planned. The condos were not part of the auction.
The buyer group includes VP Willis Howard, Pierre’s campaign manager during his successful 2009 run; developer Luis D’Agostino, who built the 45 Hendricks condo in Fort Lauderdale; and Bahamas-based investor Richard Devries, who is connected to Canter in the tennis player management company.
Douthit would not give the price the debt achieved at auction early in April. However, several sources pegged the figure at a little more than $30 million.
Douthit said the figure could change based on how much his group will assume of the more than $25 million Boca Developers, Biscayne Landing’s developer, owes the city.
Boca Developers had promised the city $8 million for the city’s art museum, $10 million for an Olympic training facility and $10 million for a library. Most of the money remains unpaid, a financial commitment the new owners of the debt would assume under the Biscayne Landing lease.
On the surface, the involvement of Douthit and Howard may raise questions because of their ties to the city’s mayor. North Miami also has to decide whether to forgive all or part of the more than $25 million it is owed under the lease on the Biscayne Landing site.
Douthit counters that his group is dealing with the lender, not the city. The group incorporated with the state to make its principals public, and has not been given any special consideration, he said.
“This group, Solar Park, bought its way to its seat. Nobody did any favor or backroom deals,” Douthit explained. “I don’t know what people are expecting. I can’t unknow the mayor.”
Pierre did not return calls seeking comment.
Douthit also has another connection to the mayor. He lent Pierre $115,000 to buy the building that once housed their law firm. Douthit sold the mortgage, public records show.
Howard said he was motivated to do right by the city because of his longstanding ties to the community. In addition to his ties to Pierre, Howard was campaign manager to former Mayor Kevin Burns and has done business in the city for some time.
Howard also said he is working to make his involvement as transparent as possible.
“We are not selling magic beans on this one,” he affirms. “We could have easily hidden this. I could have put my cousin Tyrone on this, but I’m not there for that. I’m telling you from Jump Street.”